George Lopez on ‘Lopez Tonight’

We talk comedy and 'The Smurf's' with comedian, George Lopez.

by Fred Topel Mar 8th, 2011

Usually at the Television Critics Association, I wait until after the panel to go up to the talent for more questions. On the set of Lopez Tonight, the TCA bus was late, so the show actually asked me if I’d talk to George before they started the panel. It pays to live in Burbank right by the Warner Brothers lot!

CraveOnline: I seem to remember you talking about retiring. How does doing a talk show every night fit into that plan?

George Lopez: I’ll retire after this one. But this one is nice. It’s nice to have done the sitcom first because you get used to the kind of schedule of every day. On this one, you do one show for the week, this one, you prepare for the day. So Jesse Tyler Ferguson was on, so Roseanne’s on, so you just learn new stuff every day which makes it a little more exciting. I’m not 50 yet but retirement would be nice after this is over, a few more years of this would be great.

CraveOnline: Is the weekly monologue different than doing a standup act?

George Lopez: It’s not so much. These guys do a nice job. It’s all kind of a nice flow now, after doing it for, what has it been, 14-15 months almost? So there’s a nice flow. These guys are really good and then I add stuff in. We usually have all the business done by one, tape at 5:30. So if all the work’s done by 1, you just kind of relax and learn the stuff. The schedule is relentless. We just did 10 weeks before the holidays so that’s a little bit crazy.

CraveOnline: Do you enjoy the chance to be topical every day?

George Lopez: You know what, I do. I enjoy that because of the amount of people that are here. It’s almost like a mini concert. When the bands come and play, it’s almost like a little bit of a theater type atmosphere, not a television show. It looks more like a small theater.

CraveOnline: How are you feeling these days?

George Lopez: Great. Lost a little weight over the holidays. A little facial hair, good. Do I look taller? Don’t I seem taller? It’s nice. Especially with Conan, I slid over there and did that and came back and did this. It’s nice that we’re both on the same lot because for a minute I thought I was going to be at the ranch which would be like not being in the same home with everybody else.

CraveOnline: Didn’t this pave the way for a cable talk show to be a legitimate late night player?

George Lopez: Absolutely, that’s what I think. I don’t think they’ve ever had in cable, only on network, two shows back to back. That’s kind of like building a franchise for not just now, but we’re both young dudes. I’d like to get old on TV. I already see myself on those shows, the sitcom from 2002, I don’t look like that anymore. You get to see yourself get old. You see yourself young, you see yourself a little bit older. That’s a trip, looking at the sitcom sometimes and go, “Man, look at that. Look at that hair.”

CraveOnline: Do you live in the valley near here?

George Lopez: Yeah, I do, actually very close so that’s nice too, to live around the corner. Morty lives in Malibu. I’m not there yet. I’d like to live in Malibu.

CraveOnline: Are you a voice in The Smurfs?

George Lopez: I am. I’m Grouchy. Grouchy Smurf.

CraveOnline: I don’t remember any Smurfs sounding like you. Is it your voice?

George Lopez: You know what, in the beginning it wasn’t. It was a more distant kind of thing but then I did some as my own, because it’s hard to maintain that and they liked this one better. So it’s a little bit lower than this one.